El Gato Malo

Here is the handsome boy, El Gato Malo, son of El Corredor and One Bad Cat by Mountain Cat. He is registered for the Kentucky Derby and has a race before that one! He has many famous relatives, including Secretariat, Reviewer, Mr. Prospector, and Nashua. He was born on February 6, 2005 and has a record of 4: 3-1-0. The "buzz" is that he'll have to "outrun his pedigree" if he wants to win the Derby because his super-fast, lightning hot sire won lots, but not at the Derby distance! But good luck you macho little gelding boy!

Precious Kitten and My Girls!

Precious Kitten is a filly born on February 20, 2003, the same year as Violet. She's had a very successful career so far, with 19: 7-8-1. Among her wins was the Gallorette Handicap. She was owned and bred by Ken and Sarah Ramsey of Kentucky, and her parents are Catienus out of Kitten's First by Lear Fan. Among her famous relatives, therefore, are Storm Cat, Mr. Prospector, Secretariat, Northern Dancer, and War Admiral.

She is currently listed as #10 of 3 year-olds and up fillies and mares by the 2007 World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings.

And on January 12, 2008, Barbaro's parents, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, purchased her from her Ramseys for an undisclosed sum. Of this purchase, the Ramseys said, "We hope that she brings as much pleasure to the Jacksons as she did to us. Selling her was a tough decision and we'll miss running her in the big races this year. We hope she wins a 2008 Eclipse Award for the Jacksons and goes on to an equally successful career as a broodmare. We will be following her closely and hope to see them in the winners circle with her often this year."

Breaking News! War Pass and Cool Coal Man have big weekend!

Here are photos of War Pass and Cool Coal Man taken this past weekend as they won their races. Both horses are owned by Robert LePenta and trained by Nick Zito, so the whole family is very happy. War Pass earned his 5th win in 5 starts in his 3 year-old debut in a $60,000 allowance race in Gulfstream Park. He is the 2007 Eclipse Award winning 2-year-old colt Champion and a top contender for the Kentucky Derby this spring. He won the Breeder's Cup Juvenile last October. So far, he's earned $1,433,400 for his dad. He won his spring debut by 7 1/2 lengths!

His trainer said, "He broke like a rocket." His parents are Cherokee Run and Vue by Mr. Prospector, so he is closely related to Violet, especially on her dad's side. Dame Francesca is War Pass's grandma, and Cherokee Run's dad is Runaway Groom! He also has Nasrullah, War Admiral and Count Fleet.

Cool Coal Man is also a contender for the Kentucky Derby and here you see him edging to a win in the $350,000 G2 Fountain of Youth race shortly after his brother, War Pass, won his allowance race.

Both horses are fabulous, truly fabulous. So, no wonder their dad said, "Right now, you'd have to say we're over the moon!" He is excited about his boys!

Indian Blessing and My Girls!

Indian Blessing, a 2-year-old filly born on April 9, 2005, is undefeated and considered one of the top fillies of her day. In her first start at Saratoga, she won by 5 1/2 lengths and was pulling away. She also won two Grade 1 stakes, the Frizette and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. She's an undefeated little wonder! She is owned by Hal and Patti Earnhardt who also owned and bred her sire.

My girls are related to her many ways, but primarily through the usual wonderful connections: Blushing Groom, Princequillo, Nasrullah, and Bimelech. She also has some pretty special relatives in her own pedigree, including Round Table, Northern Dancer, Nijinsky, Mr. Prospector, and Shenanigans. I hope she continues to have a strong, good life and wins at 3. And then I hope she lives in royal glory as a broodmare and herdmate in Kentucky!
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/breederscup07/news/story?id=3082681

Kentucky 2007: Mr. Prospector's Grave

Okay, here it is, the grave of Mr. Prospector, a stallion who Forbes Magazine in 2005 called "the most successful stallion in history." His race record was okay at 14: 7-4-2, but he became a legend and part of history through his work in the breeding shed. He syndicated for the phenomenal sum of $20 million when his stable sold 40 shares at $500,000 each -- a deal as it turned out!

His most celebrated son, Fusaichi Pegasus, became the highest-priced stud horse ever when he sold in 2000 for a total of $60 million. That was the year after Mr. Prospector passed. He was euthanized on June 1, 1999 after suffering peritonitis from a colic attack. So, his son became even more valuable subsequently. In the year he passed, he was still serving as a stud and had successfully covered several 10s of mares!

He produced 165 lifetime stakeswinners and 18 champions in Europe and North America. He has had many children and grandchildren win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, and earn championships, Horse of the Year awards, or lead sire lists around the world and in the U.S. He is considered without doubt the world's greatest sire of sires. He is also considered the best and greatest extension of the Northern Dancer line, and thus the most influential dirt track sire of all time as well. He is also the American agency representative to preserve the great Spearmint line.

Among his many famous fabulous children are these handful: Fappiano, Conquistador Cielo, Gulch, Afleet, Seeking the Gold, Kingmambo, and Fusaichi Pegasus. And among his immediate grandchildren are Thunder Gulch, Point Given, Afleet Alex, Lemon Drop Kid, War Emblem, Curlin, Smarty Jones, Real Quiet, Grindstone, Birdstone, Unbridled and Empire Maker.

His own parents are Raise a Native and Gold Digger by Nashua. So, he is related to my Violet most immediately through Discovery, Case Ace, Nasrullah, Count Fleet, and Bull Dog. She connects with him through his great-grandparents!

You can read more about this king of kings at the following links:
http://www.forbes.com/services/2005/05/05/cx_da_0505studmoney1.html
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Prospector
or
http://horseracing.about.com/library/weekly/aa060199.htm
or
http://www.aro.co.za/aroHorseProfiles/MR%20PROSPECTORUSA1970.htm
or
http://www.stallions.com.au/historical/mr_prospector.asp
or
http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/nativedancer.html

Kentucky 2007: Claiborne's Seeking the Gold!

Here are some photos of Seeking the Gold, the grand old stallion of Claiborne Farms. His 2007 stud fee was $125,000! He earned $2,307,000 on the track and in 15 starts had 8 wins and 6 places! His dad and mom were Mr. Prospector and Con Game by Buckpasser. One of his children is Jazil whose mom is Better than Honour, the same mom as Rags to Riches who also won the Belmont!

Anyway, Seeking the Gold has had 17 foal crops and 899 foals. Fifteen of his crops are of racing age, and 839 of his children are of racing age. He currently has 63 2 year-olds, 49 yearlings, and 11 weanlings. His yearlings and weanlings sell in the hundreds of thousands of dollars! The tour guide told us a story that because Seeking the Gold has been around the block, he tends to take a long time in the breeding shed. He will often take up to 45 minutes to get "in the mood" as compared to a few fierce seconds. He can cause quite a little traffic jam of mares waiting to be bred. When Barbie and I went home, Tom verified this story, telling about how he had to wait one day outside in the cold with a mare while Seeking the Gold took his sweet old time! Hey, you can't rush making priceless gems!! You take your time, stud!

My girls are related to him in numerous ways, including Case Ace, Nasrullah, Count Fleet, War Admiral, Traffic Court, Sir Gallahad, Blue Larkspur, and Teddy. You can read more about this beautiful elder statesman at the following links, including seeing footage of him in some of his races!
http://www.claibornefarm.com/stallions/seeking-the-gold.shtml
or
http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/stallion-directory/stallion.aspx?stallion_no=1043178
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seeking_The_Gold
or
http://www.equineline.com/extendedcontent/tt_content.cfm?StallionRef=1043178&rtype=stats
or
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4RSGq-JfMgc
or
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BlGlhukSBTk
or
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wj47oeisobQ
or
http://youtube.com/watch?v=35pA7AI2Rhk
or
http://youtube.com/watch?v=e8Ki-sx3kTo

Kentucky 2007: Claiborne's Pulpit!

Here is a photo of Pulpit, a 1994 stallion standing at stud at Claiborne Farms and right in this photo showing off in Secretariat's old pasture!! Can you believe it? He was so fun to watch. He was standing way far up on a hill under a tree, but when we ladies stepped out of the stallion barn, he cantered playfully down to his water trough and splashed around like the stallion he is! He walked along the fence line to greet us. What was funny is that he seemed so friendly, but when a lady in our group was charmed by him and stepped forward to pet him, he stepped forward so aggressively that everyone could just *tell* that he was waiting to get his licks in! Such a stud! Such a nasty old sexy stud!!!

Anyway, to look at this pot-bellied sex kitten, you would never know that he is truly a living tapestry of good breeding. His relatives are truly the stars in the firmament of the equine world. Here are some of his A-List relatives: his own dad, A.P. Indy by Seattle Slew. He also has Secretariat, Blenheim, Buckpasser, Hail to Reason, Mr. Prospector, Honest Pleasure, Nijinsky, Knight's Daughter (bred by His Royal Majesty and the mom of Round Table, yet another horse in Pulpit's background). And he even has a dash of Busher, lucky ole sexy bastard! So, of course, my own girls are related to this specially bred Claiborne Farms fella. Some of their shared relatives include Princequillo, Count Fleet, Nasrullah, War Admiral, Baby League, Equipoise, Blue Larkspur, and Discovery. His total record was 6: 4-1-0 and $712,200. But his career ended early.

Kentucky 2007: Claiborne's Eddington!

So, on the morning Barbie, Gummy and I visited Claiborne, we were in a group of nice ladies -- one lady who married into a Paris, Kentucky family and who had seen Secretariat at Claiborne Farms as a child and who was now bringing a friend for the tour, and two other ladies from Great Britain. We delighted in the lady's story about how territorial and powerful Secretariat was and we enjoyed the Breeding Shed.

Then our tour guide brought us to the Stallion Barn and showed us such important stalls! Bold Ruler and Round Table were born the same day and then as they stood at stud, they shared the same barn. We saw Secretariat's stall which Eddington now calls home. And then our tour guide brought out Eddington himself!! He strolled out all sweet and kind and beautiful and then when he was stood outside, it was like he had hit his mark on a stage. He got all puffy and posey and macho and sexy. He just preened like a peacock, looking all alert and powerful and vigilant. He was Stud Macho!!! You can see it in these photos! No wonder his 2007 breeding fee was $20,000! He is on his dad's Top 10 Runners by Lifetime earnings list in 9th place right behind Grindstone and Unbridled's Song.

So, Eddington was born on March 25, 2001 and his career record is 17: 6-3-6. He earned $1,216,760 on the track, and in 2004 took first in the Calder Derby, 2nd in the Pegasus Handicap, and 3rd in the Wood Memorial, Travers Stakes, Preakness Stakes, and Gotham Stakes. In 2005, he earned 1st in the Pimlico Special and Gulfstream Handicap, and 3rd in the Donn Handicap and Oaklawn Handicap. He was retired on 6/29/05 to stud duty at Claiborne after a soft tissue injury.

He has a dubious achievement as well -- his jockey, Jerry Bailey, is under a cloud. He rode Eddington at a furious pace in the Belmont Stakes and it is unclear whether he was purposefully trying to "use up" Eddington in order to rattle Smarty Jones and spoil his chance for the Triple Crown. We'll never know, but certainly Smarty Jones just blazed in that race, trying to beat the early speed of Eddington and Rock Hard Ten.

And talk about small world among thoroughbreds!! When he ran in the Belmont Stakes, he was beaten by Birdstone who won and whose grandpa is Unbridled!

Anyway, Eddington's dad is Unbridled and so he is related to Mr. Prospector, Buckpasser, and Dr. Fager. Through his mom, Fashion Star, he is related to Danzig and Secretariat. He even has, get this, a Blue Nola filly in his family tree! And, yes, of course, he is related to my girls, through many connections, but here are a few: Wild Risk, Wild Violet, Wood Violet, Count Fleet, Better Self, Bimelech, Princequillo, Nasrullah, Case Ace and Turn-To.

He is a beautiful stallion. I feel blessed to have seen him stand with pride and power.

Kentucky 2007: The Claiborne Breeding Shed!

Okay, so here it is! The Breeding Shed at Claiborne Farms -- our piece of American equine history! The motto of the good people who manage this place is "take care of the horses." And they care about being "practical and solid rather than fancy and showy." A.B. Hancock was from a pillar of equine society in Virginia, but he married into the Kentucky Clay family and began Claiborne Farms, the 2,764 acre facility that shapes our thoroughbred industry.

I will never be able to tell you how important this little black box of a place is! But here's some small statistics to give you an idea. Six of our 11 Triple Crown winners were conceived in this shed! Secretariat was a twinkle in his dad's eye in this shed. The following stallions served in this shed: Nasrullah, Princequillo, Abiorix, Double Jay, Round Table, Bold Ruler, Buckpasser, Forli, Herbager, Hoist the Flag, Secretariat, Nijinsky II, Danzig, and Mr. Prospector! I can't believe that I was standing in the room where Secretariat was made and where he later made Lady's Secret!

What confused me about the facility when we first arrived is that it was just so plain. I kept waiting for the tour guide to say, this is just the holding area, now we'll show you the deluxe shed we have. And the reason I felt that way was because Tom had taken us to a breeding at Hill 'n Dale farm and that place was just swank. The breeding shed was gorgeaus and they had this huge elegant viewing room above the breeding shed. Plus they had this really large area for the veterinarian and other staff and a large room for the washing of the mares and stallion. But Claiborne just has this shed and they use simple paper buckets to wash the horses.

And that's because of their generations of tradition. The shed is a private activity where superstars are conceived. I can hardly believe the great outcomes from such humble beginnings!

Horse Sense: Riding a Thoroughbred!

I went to Kentucky for three days in mid-August. While I was there, I visited Claiborne Farms, saw thoroughbred foals at Valentine Hall Farms, saw the granddaughter of Seattle Slew, and stallions related to Dr. Fager, Mr. Prospector, Secretariat, and Danzig. I saw the graves of the greatest stallions in thoroughbred history. I travelled past Count Fleet's large, beautiful home. It was an amazing trip.

And when I came back on Saturday morning, I got to ride my very own slice of history, my beautiful Velvet Tenderness. She was feeling good and sassy because it was a cool morning and she had spent the entire previous day outdoors, eating Ohio green grass! She was pulling and strong, and trotting large. She wasn't naughty, but she was pushing the envelope, testing her power! I was proud to be a part of her heritage, even if I need to learn how to ride with my seat more! ;)

Anway, I ordered Violet her official leather sale halter from Quillan Leather Shop in Paris, Kentucky. That store serves the farms in the surrounding communities, giving thoroughbreds their official tack with the brass name tag. A beautiful halter with a coppery "Velvet Tenderness" will be coming soon!

Here's an amazing fact from Claiborne Farms. Each year, whether they need it or not, every horse get s new leather halter with brass nameplate. They often sell the old ones for charity, but I was just so surprised by that elegant extravagance! Plus as soon as we got into the front office at Claiborne after driving through the gate, we were in this beautiful wood-panelled setting. And I saw three leather halters with brass nameplates hanging in a row right by the door. I leaned down just to take a peek and saw Nasrullah, Princequillo, Buckpasser, in a neat little row. I could just feel the little explosion in my brain. The halters of such three fine horses right there at finger's touch!

I'll post a picture of my Violet's halter when it arrives!